Rising soybean meal prices spur feed strategy review in Asia
Rising soybean meal (SBM) prices and stricter import regulations in Indonesia are forcing beef producers in Southeast Asia to reconsider their approaches to formulating cattle rations, according to Matias Cassinieri, Technical Manager, Kemin Animal Nutrition and Health Asia Pacific.
Indonesian authorities recently introduced a new soybean meal supply chain, requiring imports to be processed through a state-owned company. This has limited feed mills’ ability to directly purchase raw materials.
Additional pressure on the market has been exerted by disruptions in maritime logistics related to the conflict in the Middle East, leading to higher prices for feed ingredients from key supplier countries—Argentina, Brazil, and the United States.
Against this backdrop, many producers have begun to increasingly use cheaper alternative feed ingredients, including cassava, copra meal, and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). However, as Cassineri noted, replacing soybean meal without considering the amino acid balance, particularly lysine and methionine, can negatively impact animal performance.
“We need to focus on which nutrients are actually absorbed by the animal’s body,” the expert emphasized in a commentary to Asian Agribiz.
According to research presented during the Asia Dialogue: Less Soy, More Strategy: Rethinking Protein Systems for Beef Systems webinar, a 250 kg steer with an average daily gain of 0.5 kg requires approximately 400 g of metabolizable protein per day, with lysine accounting for approximately 8% of the total requirement.
According to Cassineri, using an amino acid approach to formulating diets, as well as the use of protected amino acids, allows for the maintenance of animal growth rates and feed conversion efficiency even with reduced crude protein levels in the diet.
He also noted that Indonesia is gradually developing more precise and scientifically based feeding practices in the beef cattle sector.
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